Monday, April 5, 1999
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125 evacuated from
quake-hit areas |
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RLM can form govt at Centre: Mulayam
LUCKNOW, April 4 — The issue of the formation of an alternative government in the event of the collapse of the BJP-led coalition today became contentious with the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha president Mulayam Singh Yadav claiming that the morcha would be able to form the government with the help of Left and "other like-minded parties".
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Cong seeks sack of 2 AP
ministers Thackeray
opposes Jaya's demand Tohra-Badal
feud to have wide ramifications SC
order on power-of-attorney holder Journalist’s
murder case solved
Cards
greeted with enthusiasm More
coaches for Anandpur Sahib Award
winning film to close festival |
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125 evacuated from quake-hit areas CHAMOLI, April 4 (PTI) — The Army has evacuated over 125 persons from Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts of Uttar Pradesh which were devastated by an earthquake last Monday. Called out hours after the killer-quake struck on March 29, Army troops extricated 59 bodies from the debris and helped set up tents to shelter the people who had vacated their houses and come out in the open fearing more tremors, a spokesman of the Ninth Mountain Brigade told PTI here today. Tens of Army tankers were pressed into service providing four to six lakh litres of water everyday to Gopeswar and Chamoli districts and nearby areas which were hit by the worst ever water crisis following disruption in the main water source near Gopeswar town and breaking of pipelines at several places. The Army has been actively involved in relief and rescue operations, providing medical aid, restoring communication links and civic amenities and air-dropping rations, tents and clothing in the far-flung areas further cut-off by land slides. Army engineers were busy helping civilian authorities in restoring telephone and road links in the far-flung areas of the region, the spokesman said. A number of medical camps were set up with Army doctors providing medical aid to the victims, some of whom were air-lifted to the camps in choppers returning after dropping supplies, the spokesman added. GOPESWAR (UP): Relief operations have been decentralised and relief committees formed at villages- level while water supply has been partially restored in the quake-devastated Gopeswar and Chamoli towns of Uttar Pradesh. A district official told PTI today that so far Rs 1.40 crore had been distributed among the quake survivors, 1250 tents provided to villagers and 53 medical teams dispatched to 53 relief centres in Chamoli district. In an effort to decentralise relief operations, "six zones (Tehsil-level), 10 sectors (Block and Nagar Palika-level headed by the administration) and 40 sub-sectors (Nyaya Panchayat-level headed by SDM) have been formed while an Earthquake Information Centre (EIC) has been set up at Gauchar, 60 km from Gopeswar, to receive and distribute relief material.’’ This will enable various NGOs involved in relief operations to directly approach the villages through EIC, thus reducing the earlier chaos and delay in trying to approach the district headquarter in Gopeswar, he said. CHAMOLI: The much-needed disaster management plan for this ecologically sensitive Himalayan region is now on the anvil with the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr K.C. Pant giving indications in this regard during his recent visit here. A disaster management team of UP Academy of Administration (UPAA) led by Dr J.K. Pathak, currently touring the quake-affected villages, confirmed this and said UPAA had already approached the natural disaster management committee headed by Mr Pant and disaster management division of the Ministry of Agriculture. "The disaster management plan will be formulated by the academy and subsequently implemented by the district administration of the respective districts of Uttarakhand region,’’ Mr Pathak said. Regarding the implementation of the much-talked about plan, he said, guidelines had already been issued by the academy the disaster management cell of the academy will assist the district administration in the effective implementation of the plan that would involve each village of the district. A four-member team of Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, is also touring the region to carry out a sample survey of some of the buildings which developed mild cracks in the five quake-affected villages. NEW DELHI: Relief measures would be expedited in the earthquake affected areas in UP in order to provide timely and adequate assistance to the victims. According to an official release issued here today, this decision was taken at a meeting held on Saturday under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar to review the on going relief and rehabilitation work in the quake-affected areas of Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts. The meeting was convened by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission C Pant who along with Minister of State for Agriculture and Water Resources Sompal had recently visited the affected areas as directed by the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. It was decided to make an appeal to all states, particularly the neighbouring ones, to mobilise help for the quake affected people. Indira Awas Yojna and Jawahar Rojgar Yojna schemes would be suitably modified to cater to the specific needs of the quake victims, it said. Adequate number of community shelters would be constructed in the affected region in order to protect the residents from rains and bad weather. A task force will also be set up, including representatives from state government, HUDCO, Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), CAPART and Building Material Technology Institute (BMTI) to build quake-resistant buildings. Another task force would be set up to work out the modalities of setting up an earthquake risk evaluation centre on the lines of the one existing in Shillong. Hudco has been directed to open an office at Chamoli to provide self-loans for the construction of houses. It will construct building centres and adopt two villages as Adarsh gram one each in Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts for demonstration of the appropriate technology and material keeping in view the vulnerability of the areas, the release added. LUCKNOW: Meanwhile, UP Government today set up an all-party committee to oversee relief work at the site of last week's earthquake in the Garhwal hills. The committee, headed by Legislative Council Chairman Nityanand Swamy, will have all MPs and MLAs from Uttaranchal and state Uttaranchal Development Minister Ramesh Pakhriyal would be its convener, an official spokesman said here. The Chief Minister, Mr
Kalyan Singh, directed the Public Works Department to
speed up the repair of roads damaged by the earthquake,
the spokesman said. |
Jyoti Basu hints at fresh elections CALCUTTA, April 4 (PTI) — West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu today hinted that fresh Lok Sabha elections were inevitable in the event of the fall of the Vajpayee Government as any alternative government would not last a full term. "We would vote for the Congress during a no-confidence motion against the Vajpayee Government. If they decline to form the government, there will be fresh elections. If they accept, we would give them issue-based support," he told reporters here. "No one wants another (parliamentary) election now. So we want an alternative government in power, but it will not last its full term," Mr Basu told a rally earlier here organised by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). If the Congress declined to form an alternative government with Left support, there would be fresh elections, Mr Basu told newsmen. Stating that the BJP-led Government was worse than the Congress, he said "during its one year of existence, it has failed on all counts. Its poses of swadeshi has been betrayed as foreign multinationals became the biggest beneficiaries after it came to power. The government had clearly sold itself to the diktats of the IMF and other institutions of the US government... the sooner the government goes the better.’’ NEW DELHI: Left parties today claimed there were "100 per cent chances" of the Vajpayee Government losing majority in the Lok Sabha and said it was wrong to blame the Opposition for "destabilising" the BJP-led coalition. Reacting to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s comment that the Congress and the Left were trying to destabilise the government, CPM leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet said: "Let them (BJP) give a single example of that. They have been going with money bags to people. Their own allies are drifting apart as they are losing their mass base." The BJP has now come to realise that they cannot continue, he told PTI, adding, that "There are 100 per cent chances" of a non-BJP government being formed at the Centre. Asked whether the BJP can recommend dissolution of the House if they realised that they had lost majority, Mr Surjeet said: "Not at all the President has to give chance to other parties to form the government." Criticising Mr Vajpayee’s remarks, CPI General Secretary A.B. Bardhan said: "I am really sorry that a person of his stature can utter such falsehoods." "Their (BJP’s)
partners are breaking the coalition which is falling
apart. Why should they blame the Congress and the Left?
it is wrong," he said. |
CBI traces urea scam money in USA NEW DELHI, April 4 (PTI) — In a break through in the Rs 133 crore urea scam case, the CBI has traced an amount of $ 2 million of the "scam money" in a bank in the USA. The amount was received by a US-based NRI businessman on behalf of Sambasiva Rao, an accused in the case, CBI sources told PTI. A two-member CBI team, which returned from the US late last month, traced the money remitted to the businessman by the Turkish firm, Karsan, in November 1995 from their bank account in Geneva, the sources said, adding the US authorities had been requested to block the amount. The NRI businessman is the owner of a firm on whose behalf Sambasiva Rao had taken a contract for the supply of 25,000 mt urea to National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) in May 1995. According to CBI chargesheet, Indian conspirators in the scam also received $ 4 million as kickbacks through hawala channels from Dubai. The payoffs received in India were first deposited by Karsan in the account of a Dubai-based firm from where it came to Hyderabad through illegal channels, the agency said. Karsan’s Indian agent Sambasiva Rao, who played a pivotal role in getting the contract awarded to the Turkish firm, had been charged with distributing the money among the Indian accused, CBI alleged. The CBI said certain Dubai-based Indian businessmen played a crucial role in channelising the money to the Indian co-conspirators. The money was diverted from a bank in Geneva to another in Dubai after the entire deal amount was advanced by NFL to Karsan in October 1995. The main recipients of the bribe money included former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s kin Sanjiva Rao, Karsan’s Indian agent Sambasiva Rao, his employee Mallesam Gaud, former Fertiliser Minister Ramlakhan Singh Yadav’s son Prakash Yadav, the CBI said. The CBI has so far traced $ 8 million in Switzerland, 4.6 million dollars in Monaco and two million each in Kazakhistan and the USA, sources said adding the amounts were transferred by Karsan Limited from their bank account in Geneva where they received $ 38 million from the NFL. The NFL had awarded the
contract to the Turkish firm in October 1995 for the
supply of 2 lakh mt of urea. But even after the entire
amount of $ 38 million (Rs 133 crore) was paid in
advance, Karsan failed to effect the delivery. |
RLM can form govt at Centre: Mulayam LUCKNOW, April 4 (PTI) — The issue of the formation of an alternative government in the event of the collapse of the BJP-led coalition today became contentious with the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) president Mulayam Singh Yadav claiming that the morcha would be able to form the government with the help of Left and "other like-minded parties". In his first reaction to the political developments following the AIADMK asking its leader Jayalalitha to forge new alliances, Mr Yadav, who is also Samajwadi Party chief, claimed a "secular alternative" already existed in the country. The alternative comprised the RLM, — left parties and other like minded parties, he told PTI without directly mentioning the Congress. "We will form a government with the help of the Left and other like-minded parties," he said. Till recently, the RLM had been repeatedly asking the Congress to take the initiative to pull down the Vajpayee government and form an alternative with the help of the Left and other secular forces. Mr Yadav made a veiled attack on the Congress for helping the BJP to assume power at the Centre, and said those who had helped the BJP assume power at the Centre were now repenting. Addressing a convention of Muslims, he also attacked the Congress, without naming it, for "treating" Muslims as a vote bank to come to power and "doing little" for their welfare. Mr Yadav said the party which ruled the country for nearly 45 years was responsible for laying the foundation of Ram temple in Ayodhya and then subsequent demolition of the Babri mosque. "You should be aware
of such a pseudo-secular character of a party which used
Muslims merely for coming to power," he said. |
Death of 5 infants HYDERABAD, April 4 (PTI) — The death of five infants rescued from creches, involved in child adoption racket, has snowballed into a political controversy in Andhra Pradesh with the main opposition Congress today demanding sacking of two state ministers for their "failure to protect the lives of the children". Even as five of the total 38 children admitted in government hospitals died during last two days and the condition of many others remained serious, a delegation of Congress legislators met the Governor Dr C.Rangarajan here and submitted a memorandum seeking the dismissal of the Home Minister, Mr A. Madhav Reddy and the Women and Child Welfare Minister Ms P.Aruna. A seven-member Congress delegation, led by the party leader in state Assembly, Mr P.Janardhan Reddy, sought the Governor’s intervention in ordering a CBI probe into the child-smuggling racket which was busted last month following raids on two city-based child adoption centres. The prime accused and his accomplices were arrested. Accusing the two ministers of failing to act swiftly in saving the innocent children from the clutches of the "shady organisations", they demanded that the rescued infants be handed over to the state chapter of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS). Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Mr N.Chandrababu Naidu, who visited the two government hospitals where the children were undergoing treatment, reprimanded the staff for "shoddy" facilities and ordered that sick babies be shifted to private hospitals for proper care. Following the Chief
Minister’s instructions, the sick children have been
shifted to corporate hospitals here for specialised
treatment and care. |
Thackeray opposes Jaya's demand MUMBAI, April 4 (PTI) — The Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP, today opposed AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha’s demand for sacking Union Defence Minister George Fernandes over the Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat issue. "Why should George resign?" asked Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who had come to inaugurate a state-level seminar of "Bhimshahirs" here, in response to a query by reporters. Vital issues like defence should not be discussed openly. However, "we have nothing to do with the AIADMK’s threat to the Centre. That is the Centre’s problem", Mr Thackeray said. The Sena chief, who has expressed opposition to the Centre’s proposed move to ban lotteries, hoped that the Centre would react positively to the state government’s demand against their ban. Earlier, addressing the
seminar, Mr Thackeray said in the event of the Vajpayee
Government’s fall, the Congress might come to power
with the help of 12 or 13 parties. But, it would also not
last long and ‘anarchy’ was imminent, he
claimed. |
Tohra-Badal feud to have wide
ramifications NEW DELHI, April 4 — The ongoing battle between Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and former SGPC President, G.S. Tohra, will have nationwide ramifications, Akali Dal (Master Tara Singh) President Jathedar Rachpal Singh said here today. “We should have avoided the confrontation. This unfortunate battle will have nationwide adverse affects especially on the Sikh community,” he told reporters. “All Sikh leaders, particularly Mr Badal and Mr Tohra should sincerely reflect upon the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh on the occasion of the forthcoming Khalsa tercentenary celebrations,” he said adding that “we all should vow to stay united”. He also appealed to Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee to declare a national holiday on the auspicious occasion and announce the setting up of a hospital and a medical college in the name of Guru Gobind Singh in New Delhi. Besides, the Centre should
take steps to set up a university in Guruji’s name
in “Patna Sahib” where he breathed his last. |
SC order on power-of-attorney holder NEW DELHI, April 4 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has ruled that a person holding the power of attorney granted by another has no right to argue before a court on behalf of the latter. Mr T.C. Mathai, who claimed to be the power of attorney holder of a couple living in Kuwait, had approached the apex court against denial of permission by a Thiruvananthapuram Sessions court to appear and plead on behalf of the couple who were respondents in a criminal petition before the court. Citing a 60-year-old madras High Court judgement, a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice K.T. Thomas and Mr Justice M.B. Shah said last week that an agent could not become a ‘pleader’ for the party in criminal proceedings, unless the party secures permission from the court to appoint him (power of attorney holder) to act in such proceedings. The respondent couple have not even moved for such permission and hence no occasion has arisen so far to consider that aspect, the bench said. Section two of the Power of Attorney Act, 1882 empowers the holder of power of attorney to do anything “in and with his own name and signature” by the authority of the donor of the power. Once such authority was granted the act recognises that everything done by the power of attorney holder “shall be as effective in law as if it had been done by the donor.” While keeping in mind the provision of the Power of Attorney Act, the bench referred to Section 303 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which entitled a person to the right of being defended by a pleader. The Cr.P.C. Further says that if the pleader is not a legal practitioner “it was essential to secure permission of the court” for the pleader to act in court proceedings. After perusing the provisions of the act and Cr.P.C., the bench ruled “section two of the act cannot overrise the specific provision of a statute which requires that a particular act should be done by a party in person. “When the code requires the appearance of an accused in a court it is no compliance with it if a power of attorney holder appears for him. It is a different thing that a party can be permitted to appear through counsel,” the bench said. It said “the work in a court of a law is a serious and responsible function.....Efficacious discharge of judicial process very often depends upon the valuable service rendered by the legal profession. “But if the person
proposed to be appointed by the party is not a legal
practitioner, the court has to satisfy itself whether the
expected assistance would be rendered by that
person,” the bench added. |
Journalist’s murder case solved NEW DELHI, April 4 — Delhi police today claimed to have solved the murder case of Anil Rattan, a freelance journalist and top bridge player with the arrest of a suspected burglar. “Mahmood Ali, alias Sher Ali of Nizamuddin Basti, who has 25 cases of burglary against him, has confessed having killed Rattan with the help of his accomplice Akhter, hailing from Bihar, on March 18 afternoon,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South P.K. Srivastava told reporters. “The breakthrough came when Head Constable Iqramuddin, the Record Moharir of Lodhi Colony police station, pointed out that two criminals who posed as electricians to enter houses were arrested recently by the same police station,” he said, adding, “subsequent investigations zeroed in on Mahmood Ali”. The body of 41-year-old Rattan, with stab injuries, was recovered from his flat in Lodhi Colony on March 20. Record Moharir, head
Constable Iqramuddin, has been recommended for Ashadharan
Karya Puraskar, he said. |
Scribes' wage board report soon NEW DELHI, April 4 (UNI) — Union Labour Minister Satyanarayan Jatia today expressed the hope that some positive results would be available on journalist and non-journalists wage board before April 15. Talking to reporters here
today he said the final hearing of the Justice Manisana
Singh Committee is scheduled for tomorrow. The employers
will present their case and after one day the committee
is expected to submit its report to the wage board. The
board will then convene a meeting to give its final
touches on recommendations which they will submit to the
government. |
Cards greeted with enthusiasm NEW DELHI, April 4 — The tercentenary greeting cards released on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Khalsa have hit the stands in the capital. The cards, display in Gurmukhi the history of the Khalsa Panth along with English translation, trace the history of Sikhism and the emergence of the panth. The cards are being sold in four Gurdwaras in the capital — Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Gurdwara Moti Bagh Sahib and Gurdwara Nanak Piao. Welcoming the cards, Mr Gurdeep Singh, who bought many of these from Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, said “I am so happy that I can greet my friends and other relatives through a card which is specific to the occasion rather than a mundane ‘seasons greeting’ card.” It is not just the history of the growth of Khalsa, but also what Khalsa stood for which has caught the imagination of many buyers. . Many parents were impressed with the kind of informative details provided in the card and were eager to keep them as collector’s item too. Seventeen per cent of the
sale proceeds of the cards produced by Archies would be
given to the DSGMC for charity, the official said. |
More coaches for Anandpur Sahib NEW DELHI, April 4 — Northern Railway has made special arrangements by augmenting additional coaches in all trains to enable pilgrims reach Anandpur Sahib for the forthcoming Khalsa tercentenary celebrations. Two new festival special trains would run between Sirhind and Anandpur Sahib, apart from the augmentation of several coaches and temporary stoppage of trains which pass through the historic city during the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of the Khalsa, Northern Railway said here today. The number of coaches of the passenger trains between Ambala, Sirhind and Nangal Dam (1USN/2USN) has been increased from five to 10 from tomorrow. The two new trains between Sirhind and Anandpur Sahib would shuttle between the two stations twice a day from April 5 to April 12. A number of trains, which
pass through the region, would have temporary stoppage at
Sirhind from April 10 to April 20. |
Award winning film to close festival KOCHI, April 4 (PTI) — The entry that wins the best film award in the competition section of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will be the closing film of the festival, according to sources at the Kerala State Chalachitra Akademi, the organisers of the event. The IFFK, which opened with the film, ‘Dreams’ by celebrated Japanese film-maker Akira Kurosawa, has 15 entries in the competition section. The section consists of films from Asian and Third World countries. There are three entries from India of which one is the Malayalam film ‘Ghershome’ by PT Kunhimohammed. Two films, ‘DON’
from Iran and ‘One Evening After the War’ a
Cambodia-France co-production, had already been shown to
the jury and the delegates. |
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| 9 labourers killed in
mishap DINDIGUL (TN): Nine labourers, including four women, were killed and injured 11 seriously when the lorry in which they were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a pond, 35 km from here, early on Sunday morning, the police said. The lorry loaded with gypsum was proceeding to Tiruchirappalli from Kerala when the mishap occurred at Virupatchi near Chatrapatti on the Dindigul-Palani road, the police said. — PTI Youth throws shoe at Judge Chola naval
exercise to be simulated Five charred to
death Delhi to be made
flowers’ city |
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